Gov. Tomblin signs education reform bill

April 11, 2013

CHARLESTON - Stakeholders in West Virginia's education system and lawmakers alike made no issue in calling Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's education bill, Senate Bill 359, a compromise, as it was signed into law Wednesday.

The bill was a primary focus for much of this year's legislature after a 2012 audit of the state's education system pointed out flaws, such as its high level of bureaucracy and high level of spending with little positive outcome.

Eastern Panhandle delegates were among those who see the bill as the beginning of a larger education overhaul.

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Delegate Jason Barrett, D-Berkeley, who serves on the House education committee, said the bill was a bipartisan effort and called it "a bold step" toward education reform. Barrett said giving more local control to county school boards is the strongest portion of the bill.

The legislation lets school boards develop their own calendars so that students can still achieve the 180 days of school required.

"I really support the idea of allowing our local school boards to make a lot of those decisions," Barrett said. "This bill really goes a long way in ensuring that."

Delegate Tiffany Lawrence, D-Jefferson shared Barrett's feelings on decentralizing some of the powers and responsibilities of the state when it comes to education. Lawrence said the process for working on this bill has been unlike one she has participated in previously.

A variety of stakeholders have participated in the creation and evolution of this bill, most notably, Lawrence said, the West Virginia Business and Industry Council. Lawrence said their priority is finding a way to not only improve student achievement, but giving incentive for those achieving academic success to stay in West Virginia.

"Keeping those people that are going to have an impact on student achievement later in life, I think, is a real key element," Lawrence said.

Despite the bill's passage, some lawmakers were critical of the legislation. Delegate Paul Espinosa, R-Jefferson, said he wished the bill pushed further minimizing bureaucracy in education.

"If you look at comparable states ... we still are much higher in bureaucracy than a lot of those other states," Espinosa said.

Delegate Larry Faircloth, R-Berkeley, said he supports the final legislation more than he did when it was initially introduced, but said education reform is still a work in progress.

"The stage it's in now, it doesn't hurt," Faircloth said. "It is fractionally and marginally helpful to the system, but it gives us something to continue to work on."